


Somniloquy

by discogirlcomingthrough



Series: Parapines [2]
Category: Gravity Falls, ParaNorman, Parapines - Fandom
Genre: Dipper Pines/Norman Babcock - Implied - Freeform, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 22:53:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1074015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discogirlcomingthrough/pseuds/discogirlcomingthrough
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You talk in your sleep, you know." Tonight was going to be the first big adventure that Norman had with the duo. They were having a sleepover in the shack; Norman’s very first sleepover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really sorry for how long it took me to post the first chapter of this story! I've been really busy with uni work and everything but in two weeks it's Christmas holiday's (yay!). I managed to find a second to finish the first chapter of the story so here it is! Don't worry, I'll get the next chapter out later in the week - I won't make you wait months for it. I hope you all enjoy!

**Somniloquy**

It had been almost two weeks since Norman had first met the Pines twins. Never in his life did he find it as easy to be himself until he befriended the mystery duo. No one had accepted him so welcomingly in his life – not even Neil (and he was rather accepting of Normans ‘ _gift’_ ). Every day for the past two weeks, the three of them spent together. They would go to each other’s houses after school to hang out, sometimes with Candy and Grenada, or they would go to arcade or just muck around like a couple of happy children. They hadn’t yet gone on a ‘ _real’_ adventure; Norman thought that Dipper might still be weighing up the pros and cons whether Norman would be able to handle it or not. But tonight was going to be the first big adventure that Norman had with the duo. They were having a sleepover in the shack; Norman’s very first sleepover.

He was extremely nervous for it, though the excitement he felt in the pit of his stomach counteracted his fears. The idea of being able to spend a whole 24 hour’s with his new friends overwhelmed him with joy, though he had a niggling voice in the back of his mind telling him that this was going to be a bad idea. For once, the voice wasn’t a ghost; it was his own conscious.

Staring at his watch, he anxiously tapped down on his kitchen table to which he was sat. 12:00 noon. He was going around at exactly 13:00 hours according to Dipper’s plan. For the past few days, he’s admired Dipper’s cute obsession for writing lists and planning out the whole weekend down to the minute. He couldn’t be the one to ruin his perfectly laid out plans by coming a little early; his head might explode! It wasn’t hard to noticed how high strung his new best friend was. He was nothing like his sister, Mabel, who was too carefree to worry about the little things. Even though they were both the complete opposite of each other, Norman had never met anyone so alike, either.

“Hello, sweetie. How are you? Aren’t you going around to Dipper’s today?” Norman’s mother smiled to her youngest as she walked into the kitchen and over to the cupboard with a bag of groceries. She was elated to see how happy her son had been for the past two weeks. Usually she was up all night worrying about him, for him. Some night’s she would stay awake with him just to try and help him sleep because of what she used to think were hallucinations a few years ago wouldn’t leave him alone. She would sing a soft lullaby to calm him to sleep. It still knots her stomach to think that there were real ghosts in his room stopping him from sleeping because they wanted his help. But since coming to Gravity Fall’s, Norman had been sleeping soundly. You wouldn’t even recognise that the boy used to have insomnia. He smiled back to his mother.

“Yeah, I’m going around at one o’clock. Tonight’s the night of the sleepover!” He cheered a little too enthusiastically.

“Oh, I forgot!” She lied; her back still to her son as she absently put away the shopping. She knew perfectly well what tonight's plans were for Norman. Though Perry put doubt in her mind that Norman might _'screw it up'_ and reveal his secret causing him to lose both his friends (neither of them knew that he already had told them and they both accepted it), she was so thankful that he was able to go out and enjoy himself with his new friends and that she didn't have to worry about him.

"Make sure you have something to eat whilst you're there, and not too many sweets before bed, okay?" She mothered. Norman rolled his eyes without her noticing.

"Okay, I promise." He stared back at his watch. 12:15, half an hour more before he could finally set off.

"Have you got your sleeping bag? Toiletries? A pillow? Pyjamas? Clothes for tomorrow? Clean underwear?"

"Yeah, I've got it all, mum." He grinned. It's not like he had his bag packed since Dipper had mentioned having a sleepover as a passing comment earlier in the week ... Nope.

"Good. I hope you have a great time, sweetie! And don't forget to text me when you go to bed, okay?" She turned away from the cupboard to face her son. "Promise?"

"I promise."

***

Finally it was time for Norman to go to his friend’s home. He almost took off in a sprint towards their house until he remembered Dipper’s overly compulsive need to stay on schedule. Instead, he decided to take in the scenery of the woods he walked past. It seemed eerie and unsettled, but that just intrigued him even more _. I wonder how many ghosts are in there_. But that adventure would have to wait for another day; he already had a big enough adventure to deal with. Reaching the edge of the clearing, Norman skipped down towards the Mystery Shacks path with his overly large bag knocking against the back of his knees and stopping short of the door. He looked back at his watch. 12:56, hopefully Dipper won’t have a field day for being four minutes early.

Closing the gap between him and the door he lightly knocked. Inside he could hear the muffled sounds of his two best friends.

"I'll get it!" Dipper shouted.

"No, I will!" Mabel retaliated.

"No! Mabel!"

"Beat me if you can!"

"Mabel! He's my best friend!"

"He's mine too!"

"Just ... Mabel!"

It was easy to hear the scuffle from behind the door and Norman couldn't help but giggle to himself. After a minute or two, the door slowly opened.

"Sup dude." Soos greeted him with a brush in hand and moving to one side to allow Norman access. In the background he could see the twins in a headlock unaware that Norman had just entered the shack. He stood and watched for a moment before coughing abruptly. Both of the twins froze to glare at boy who interrupted their fight. Pushing away from each other, they grinned at their tall haired friend.

"Hey Norm!"

"Hey Normy!" They spoke in unison hovering over to him.

"Hey" he shyly smiled.

"Ready for a sleepover to remember?" A cheeky grin tickled onto Dipper face as he pulled out a piece of paper covered in many scribbles from his pocket. "Norman turns up at 1300, tick!" He read aloud, mentally checking off the first bullet point. "So now ... we're going ... too ..." He slowly spoke whilst intently reading his list.

"LETS BAKE CAKES!" Mabel threw her arms high in the air giddily.

"But Mabel ... that's not until 15:00..." He scanned the paper.

"Oh come on Dip!" She blew a raspberry in her brother’s direction. "When was the last time you were impulsive?"

"I ... er ..." Dipper stammered. Rolling her eyes with annoyance and turned to Norman who was still stood uncomfortably at the door. He was already used to his twin best friend’s playful arguments. He found them funny, truth be told, but not when he was dragged in to choose a side which had happened a number of times this week alone.

"What'd you say, Normy? Wanna bake cakes? Mabel's specialty!" Grabbing ahold of his hand she dragged him towards the direction if the kitchen.

"Erm, sure" he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Sobbing and sighing, Dipper heavily stomped behind them.

"Fine. I guess we can play video games later ..." His teeth clenched.

"Yay for Dipping Sauce!" She grinned dragging Norman behind her.  “Baking cakes! Baking cakes!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ah! ... Mabel?” He gulped, his hand pressed over his heart. “You scared me!” Panting slightly, he saw her clenching her knees. “What is it? ... What's wrong?" He lazily rubbed his eye. She rocked back and forth, fit to burst. Norman noticed. "Erm ... Is everything okay?" “You talk in your sleep, you know.” She barely whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so guess who had this written for a while but totally sucked and forgot to upload it? *two thumbs up* This girl. To be fair I've had a lot of work to do lately and it completely slipped my mind! Here's the second part of the story :D

An hour and a half later, their once semi-clean kitchen was heavily covered in snow like flour. Their initial plan of baking cakes somehow ended up in a full blown out flour war in which the boys were defeated by a manically laughing Mabel. The cakes didn't come out too well since not enough flour went into the cakes, nor did they remember they were in the oven - they were having too much fun. They didn't mind about not having cakes to eat; somehow they still had left over candy from summerween to keep them going all night. They were whole heartedly giggling, red faced and slightly sweaty from their fight. Norman couldn't stop smiling. Dipper took off his hat to wipe his sweaty brow. Letting a gasp of air escape his mouth, he took out the piece of paper from his hat and secured it back onto his head. Examining the paper, he clicked his tongue.

"Hmmm ... Right ... 14:30 ... We were supposed to be playing video games until 15:00 and then bake cakes, but not mentioning any names, Mabel, we have already done that." Mabel blew her lips at her twin as she stuck out her tongue.

"You enjoyed yourself and you know it!" She taunted as she threw the remainder of the flour in her hand at her brother and placed her arm around Norman's shoulder. "And so did Normy!" Still smiling, he nodded his head. Dipper, unamused, brushed the flour off his already pale face. Mabel wiggled her eyebrows up and down at her brother whilst making funny noises. Trying as hard as he could not to give in to his sister, a small smirk tickled Dippers lips and betrayed him.

"Fine. Fine. Since we're not following my list anyway because of some people, not mentioning any names, Mabel again; what should we do next?"

"Hmmm", she pondered. You could hear the gears in her hyped up brain beginning to turn. "Well, why don't we cam Neil!" She cheered. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Because you've done that like every time Norman comes around?" Mabel pouted.

"So?" She protested. "Neil's Normy's best friend!" As much as he tried to hide his displeasure, Dipper's eye began to twitch. He hated the idea that Norman had another best friend since Norman was pretty much the only friend Dipper had, excluding the mystery shack workers and Candy and Grenada of course. Mabel could sense her brother’s discomfort and quickly changed the subject.

"Ooh! Why don't we build a fort!" Cheering, she grabbed Norman's arm. "Want to build a fort?"

"Erm, sure?" He hesitated. "I've never built a fort before." Mabel gasped in over dramatic horror.

"What?!" She smacked Norman's shoulder, which shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. His hand unconsciously went to rub the place in which she hit.  "That is outrageous! I demand that we build a fort right this second!" Stomping her foot to the floor, she grabbed a hold of both Norman and Dippers hands and dragged them towards the staircase and up to the attic. "FORT'S DON'T MAKE THEMSELVES!"

Dipper casually slapped his face at his sister’s antics whilst being pulled along. Norman softly chucked at his friends gesture. It was easy to relax around the twins. Never did he feel as if he was a freak. Gazing sideward at Dipper, Norman noticed how his nose was slightly blushed. Was he embarrassed by his sister’s enthusiasm? Or was it the fact his face was covered in flour that the shade of his nose appeared to glow? _Almost like a little Rudolph_ , he thought.

"Oh!" Norman snapped his gaze from Dipper and back up to Mabel who had stopped short of the door. He felt his own nose burn at the notion that he was caught gawking at his friend. "And we're sleeping in this fort, too. So it can’t suck." She grinned and pushed through their bedroom door.

***

In the middle of the attic the twin’s mattresses’ and pillows were scattered messily. Mabel had hung some blankets over the top and on to one of the beams above it to appear like a tent and found some fairy light’s stashed away under her bed and decided to ‘pretty it up’. They sat and talked for hours, laughing often until they went back into the kitchen to make some hot coco and have something to eat. After returning to the attic, sleep gradually swept over Mabel as she began softly snoring on one side of the fort.

“Hey,” Dipper whispered. “Thanks for coming, man.” Norman’s eyes lit up with a smile.

“T…thanks for inviting me.” He toothily grinned. With a yawn, Dipper lay himself down with his hands on the back of his head, knocking off his hat. _Wow_. Norman didn’t mean to glare at him. Dipper pulled a face of confusion.

“You okay, man?” Norman shook his head quickly, making a mental note to not stare.

“Y…yeah! Sorry, I’m t…tired …” He rushed, throwing himself down onto the pillows next to Dipper a little harder than he meant too. Worryingly looking over to Mabel in case he woke her, his features soften at the fact she hadn’t been disturbed.

“Next week, Norm,” Dipper started, staring up at the ceiling. Norman rolled his head back to Dipper to give him his full attention. “I’ll take you out on one of our adventures.”

“Really?” he grinned. Dipper nodded. “I’d like that.” Turning his head back to the ceiling, he couldn’t control the small blush that tinted his cheeks. Dipper trusts him. He isn’t weighing him up like he originally thought. Though, a horrible thought crossed his mind and he burrowed his eyebrows. “Hey, Dip?”

“Hmmm.” At some point during Norman’s thought, Dipper had closed his eyes.

“You’re not only f…friends with me because … the … ghost thing … are you?” Dipper sat up abrupt and glared at Norman.

“What? No! Of course not!” He seemed genuinely offended. “Why … why would you think that?” Norman shrugged.

“I guess … I’m just not used to … people wanting to be my friend for me. Or at all.” Dipper sighed and lay back down. For a moment he didn’t speak which worried Norman.

“I guess you best get used to it.” Dipper barely audible said. Norman let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I wanted to be your friend because you seemed to be kinda cool, and … well, I was right.”

“Y…You’re kinda cool, too Dip.” He grinned. Dipper nodded as his eyes shut. “Thanks … for everything.” When he didn’t reply, he rolled his head back to see that Dipper had begun to softly snore just like Mabel. Norman chuckled. _Cutie._

_***_

Norman was stood alone on top of the Mystery Shacks roof top, his eyes gently shut; his ear’s listening intently to the wind. The world began to turn upside down. His breath frosted as he gasped. Nausea clamped at his stomach. He fell into the galaxy, carelessly floating amongst the stars, twisting around the space. His eyes rolled with joy, transfixed to the constellation taunting his mind. His fingertips uncontrollable reached out for the stars. The little Dipper began to move closer and morph together to create a beautiful creature. The most beautiful creature Norman had ever seen.

It hovered there in front of him; smiling a smile so sweet it gave Norman a strange feeling of desire he had never experienced before. Humming, he moved closer until he could finally see the comforting, cinnamon eyes of the youthful boy; his new best friend. Dipper’s smile changed to a look of greed.

"Dipper?" He lustfully whispered his friend’s name. Norman reached to touch his face, but was cut short as Dipper’s hands softly stroked up his forearms and gently gripped his shoulders as he licked his lips hungrily. Norman's head was rushing and made him nauseous. He craved this moment. As if on their own, Norman’s lips pouted and slowly began to close the gap between them.

"Norrrrrrrrman."

Suddenly, Dipper began shaking him, furiously.

"Ah! ... Dipper?" He whispered as he clumsily sat up. What he thought was Dipper shaking him had let go. Taking in his surroundings, he realised he was back inside the fort the trio had made earlier that day. _Stupid dream._ Dipper was quietly snoring next to him. Norman sighed with relief but also with a hint of happiness. Dipper looked perfect lay next to him, a small bit of drool dangling from the edge of his mouth and trickling onto the pillow below. _Thank god I didn't wake him._

Turning over to fall back asleep, he didn't except Mabel to be sat up glaring at him.

"Ah! ... Mabel?” He gulped, his hand pressed over his heart. “You scared me!” Panting slightly, he saw her clenching her knees. “What is it? ... What's wrong?" He lazily rubbed his eye. She rocked back and forth, fit to burst. Norman noticed. "Erm ... Is everything okay?"

“You talk in your sleep, you know.” She barely whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ”Don’t you know?!” She grinned. “We’re going on an adventure! We've got a little constellation to catch you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at this! It didn't take me nearly a month to update! :D Next chapter will be the last for this story, and then the new story will start! Yay parapine series … hope you like :)

Norman froze, his eyes glued to Mabel’s. He wasn't sure what she had heard or if she was just simply making an observation; but this was Mabel.

"I mean, I kinda guessed, but still!" Her voice higher. His cheeks burnt.

"Erm ..." Was all he could manage. He just stared longer until he could think of something to say. _Stupid Norman._ "Y-you ... guessed ..." Her head nodding wildly as she nearly bit through her lip. "T-hat ... that I sleep talked?" _That's it Norman, play dumb._ It appeared to work for the moment until her face fell. Shaking it back to a gentle smile, she edge closer to Norman.

"Normy, don't you remember what you dreamed about?" Now he could feel a pain shooting down his spine. Of course he remembered what he dreamt; it's been the same dream every night since he met Dipper. He felt ridge. _Play dumb, play dumb._

"Erm ... N-no?" Mabel knew he was lying. Her smile grew until it looked uncomfortable on her face.

"Oh, Normy! You are just adorable!" She cooed, pulling him into a hug.

"I-I am?" His arm naturally wrapped around her back. Giggling quietly, she pulled back and cupped his cheek.

"Totally." Norman just stared at her. He was still unsure what was going on. Was he in another dream? Usual they're just about Dipper; Mabel's never had a cameo let alone the main role before. "So, how long?" She beamed letting her hand drop.

"How l-long ... W-what?" Getting annoyed with this back and forth game; she furrowed her eyebrows and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Normy ..." Looking around him to see her brother still fast asleep, she turned back to Norman who felt scared of the next thing she was going to say. "You kept whispering Dippers name!" His whole body covered itself in a cool sweat.

"W-what?" Squatting the air in front of him, he quickly avoided eye contact with her. "Pfft ... N-no I d-didn't ..." Mabel pulled a face and popped her hip the best she could whilst sat back on her knees.

"Don't _'pfft'_ me, mister, I heard you!" She accused, poking Norman in the chest. "You like my brother!" Norman's eyes unintentionally bulged giving him away completely.

"C-course I l-like him ... H-he's my b-best friend..." He panicked, eyes shifting over to said boy.

"You know how I mean it, Babcock." Her interrogation wasn't over yet. "You like-like him!"

"W-what?!" He half shouted making Dipper stir. Both of them froze to watch him, hoping he didn't wake. Yawning, he rolled over and carried on with his slumber. Sighing with relief, he turned back to Mabel. "I don't ... l-like-like him ..." He began. "I m-mean ... he’s a boy ..." Looking back down to his sleeping friend, a smile sweetly etched its way on his face. He wanted ever so much to brush the small part of hair that has covered Dippers birthmark back and kiss his forehead lightly whilst Dipper was wrapped in his arms ... But he definitely didn't like-like him. Mabel bit down onto her fist as she watched Norman lovingly stare at her brother.

"Oh, you totally like-like him!" His gazed jeered back to Mabel and fell to a look of shock. He didn't know what to say, so opted to glare at the mattress. He knew coming over would have been a terrible idea. Reassuringly, Mabel placed her hand on his shoulder and solemnly smiled to him. "Hey; you're secrets safe with me..." Norman nodded, not averting his eyes. Sighing deeply, he began twiddling his fingers.

"I-I ..." His words choked in the back of his throat. Steadying himself, he took a deep breath. "I ... don't know what ... I feel." He admitted to her. Slightly taken back by his statement, she softly rubbed his shoulder.

"Want to talk about it?" He shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it, especially to Mabel. She didn't seem to have a filter at times, yet he wanted to. He needed to talk about what he was feeling because he didn’t understand it. It couldn’t talk to his parents; his Dad would surely be even more disappointed in him. And his sister, well, this would just be hot gossip to spread around to her so called friends. Then a thought dawned on him.

"Mabel ..." He began, still not looking at her. "B-before ... you said ... you knew?" Chancing a look, he lifted his head. "W-what did you mean?" Smiling at him, she grabbed a hold of his hand.

"I see the way you look at him. When you're around me, you never stutter. I've noticed you only stutter when you're scared or nervous, and when Dips around, you're a stuttering fool!" She chuckled, drawing soft circles onto the palm of Norman's hand. "I kinda always wanted a guy to look at me ... the way you look at him." Watching her fingers rub against Norman's hand, she winced. "Don't worry, Normy." Meeting his gaze, he searched her eyes. "You're secret is safe with me." She repeated. Norman barely smiled in return.

"Mabel ... d-do you ... really think I have a ... a crush?" Nodding her head, Norman sighed and dragged his free hand down his face. "Oh man ..." Sighing heavily, he pulled his other hand away from Mabel and covered his face. "I ... he's ..." He stuttered. "He's a boy."

"So?" Mabel raised an eye brow. "Boy, girl, pet pig, what's it matter? You can't help who you love." His head snapped up and his eyes bulged again.

"L-l-l-lo..." He stammered. He definitely didn't love him. "I don't ... l-l-lo" chuckling again, she punched his shoulder.

"We're going to talk about this properly later, okay mister?" She told more than asked him. "When sleeping beauty isn't around." Looking back down to Dipper, Norman couldn't stop the warm feeling spread in his chest. Mabel laid herself back down on her side of the pillow fort and cuddled under the cover. Norman followed suits and lay on his back staring at the ceiling. _Me? Love Dipper? Hilarious!_ That couldn't happen. Not only could he not have a crush on a boy; but his Dad would kill him for being even more of a freak. Looking down to the sleeping boy next to him, he softly sighed. The faint aroma of Dipper entered through his nostrils and gave him a sense of safety and security. _Of course Mabel is right. Of course I have stupid crush on this stupid boy._ Playing their conversation over and over again, he rolled his head to whisper to her.

"Hey, Mabel?" Rolling over to face him, she hummed. "What ... What do I do?" Grinning, she leaned up on her arm.

"Don't you know?!" She grinned. "We're going on an adventure! We've got a little constellation to catch you!" 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if he accidentally sleep-talked again and this time it was Dipper that woke up and heard? How could he have been so stupid for forget that he had that dream? He had it every night for the past two weeks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I’m so sorry that this one took awhile to come out, things got a little bit hectic back there at university, but it’s Easter holiday’s now! So here’s the final chapter for this one.

Norman didn’t fall back to sleep. He didn’t want another incident like the one before. What if he accidentally sleep-talked again and this time it was Dipper that woke up and heard? How could he have been so stupid for forget that he had that dream? He had it every night for the past two weeks! He should have told the twins he couldn’t sleep over because his Dad wouldn’t have let him, which wouldn’t have been too difficult to believe. He couldn’t quiet his mind down. For the first time in his life, he regretted the fact his insomnia has subsided.

Sandwiched between the sleeping twins, he silently sighed. Now Mabel knew he had a crush on her brother. Hopefully it’s just a stupid one that will go in a week or two; just a pre-teen infatuation. Could he trust Mabel not to tell? She already knew he could see ghosts and as far as he knew, she hadn’t blabbed to Candy or Grenada about it. Slapping his face, he wiggled his way out of the twin sandwich and off the pillow fort. He needed some air.

Walking over to the bedroom door, he looked back to make sure he didn’t wake up the sleeping beauties. Both of them still softly snored in unison. Unintentionally, his eyes fixated onto Dipper’s face. He felt a warm feeling spread inside his chest for the second time that night. Rolling his eyes inwardly, he pushed out of the bedroom door and made his way to the ladder leading to the roof.

Once on the roof, he decided to take a seat in one of the deck chairs. He needed to clear his mind, and this place was the perfect quiet place. Truth be told, he was a little jealous his home didn't have a roof like this. It must have been around 3am, he thought. The night sky glowed with a billion little lights. The woods looked spookier than normal under the cover of the moonlight. He could hear the rustle of bushes and leaves, and the occasional rattle of animals. To anyone else this place would be terrifying like a haunted house; but to Norman it was beautiful. Watching over the scenery, his eyes began to softly droop until his sight was emerged into total darkness and sleep claimed him.

***

The sound of a bird squawk woke him with a fright. The sun blinded him momentarily as his eyes adjusted to the daylight. Blinking, batting the sleep away, he stretched his arms out above his head.

"I must have fallen asleep."

"Morning, Spike!" A voice from the chair next to him greeted causing Norman to jump and to let out a not so manly cry. He froze to the spot, not realising anyone else was on the roof. Slowly turning to face his right, he saw mucky hiker boots attached to the end of crossed over legs, a green checkered shirt and red hair blowing softly in the wind toward him with an oversized fluffy hat on top. The older girl smiled down at him. _Wendy?_

"Erm ... H-hi...?" Norman squeaked out. He held a confused look on his face which made Wendy let out a breathy chuckle.

"This is my break place." She answered Norman's question which he couldn't remember asking. "I work in the shop at the weekends. Just chillin' before my hard day of doing nothing." She smirked and her eyes moved back down to a magazine that was on her lap. Norman rubbed his eyes to make sure she was actually here and it wasn't another one of his dreams.

"W-what time ... is it?"

"8." She confirmed not looking up from her magazine, shaking her foot. Norman stared at her. This girl was the infatuation of his best friend, who was his own infatuation. His eyes slanted slightly as his eyebrows furrowed. He had no real reason to, but he really disliked this girl. Turning his gaze back over the woods his features turned awkward. Biting down on his bottom lip, he realised he might have sleep-talked again. Turning back to the girl whose eyes hadn't moved from the magazine, he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Closing his mouth, he tried to think of something better to say. He opened and closed it again a few more times before Wendy chirrup up without looking away from her magazine.

"If you've got something to say, say it, Spike. Nothing to get jelly about." He assumed when she said jelly it meant nervous and not jealous, because he had a lot to be jealous about.

"Erm ..." He began averting his eyes. "D-did you ... hear ... me s-sleep t-t-talk?" Rising an eyebrow, she turned to look down to him.

"So that's why you're up here?" Barely nodding, Wendy shook her head. "Nah, you're good." She confirmed and closed her magazine, sliding it under her seat. Norman let out a sigh of relief. He thought she was probably going to go back into the mystery shack, but she didn't. Instead, she leant over to her side and opened a cooling box Norman hadn't even noticed and pulled out two sodas, passing one to Norman. Shakily accepting it, Wendy popped hers open and took a gulp of the fizzy drink. Slumping back down in her chair, she stared over the woods. Norman, now sat on the edge of his seat, looked down at the can in his hands. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, he too opened the can and had a sip from it.

"So," Wendy began, looking down to him, "Dip show you this place?" Norman looked up at the mention of his name. Nodding lightly, he turned his gaze back to the woods. "Yeah, I showed him at the beginning of summer." _Oh, did you now?_ His grip on his can hardened a little.

"O-oh." He breathed.

"Yeah, him and hambone are alright." Norman's eyebrow rose.

"Hambone?" He paused trying to think about whom she was referring to. "M-Mabel?" Wendy nodded.

"She's got a pet pig, dude. She's cool." She chuckled taking another sip of her drink. "And her knitting skills? Geez, the girls awesome." Norman smiled slightly. "Dipper's cool too." His smiled left. _She's not allowed to think that._ Turning his gaze away, he took a big gulp of his soda. "He's got a crush on me, you know." Spitting his drink out, Norman almost dropped his can at the statement. Wiping the soda off his chin and regaining his composure, he glared up at Wendy.

"O-oh ..." He didn't realise she knew; not that he should be surprised it was pretty obvious.

"Yuuuup." She dragged out. "I feel bad for the kid though." Norman stared in confusion. _Why is she telling me?_ It felt as if she was talking about things she wouldn't normally tell anyone.

"W-why?" Frowning slightly, she looked down at her soda can.

"Cause when he realises that not only am I older, but really not the person he thinks I am, it'll break his heart." She sighed and turned back to Norman. "Crushes suck, dude." Norman's eyes were glued to Wendy's. Frowning, Norman nodded.

"Y-you're t-telling me." Looking down to the ground, he realised he had Wendy all wrong. She was actually a really nice person who cared about the fact Dipper had a crush on her and worried about hurting him. "I-I've seen my sister ... get hurt from c-crushes a lot." Chuckling softly, he added, "b-but don't get me w-wrong ... she's broken a f-few h-hearts herself." Wendy smiled widely and stared up to the sky.

"I bet she has." Norman felt her whole demeanour change at the mention of his sister. She seemed lighter, like she was floating in thought. "Well!" She snapped out of whatever she was in, and flung her soda can off the side of the roof. "I best get to work, catch ya later, Spike." She winked and two-finger saluted Norman as she stood. Smiling back to her, he watched as she walked over and descended the ladder. He definitely had her all wrong. Turning back to the scenery of the woods, he finished his soda. _Spike?_ Deciding to place the can down next to the chair instead of littering, he stood. Closing his eyes he allowed the wind to tickle his cheeks. He was completely wrong about Wendy, and he was glad for it. He couldn’t blame her for something as silly as someone having a crush on her. Smiling to himself, he decided to return to the attic in a much better mood than before.

***

Quietly opening the attic door, Norman could see the twins still soundly asleep. Hopefully they hadn't woken in the night to find him missing. Walking over to the pillow fort, he accidentally stood on a floor board that creaked. Norman froze as both the twins stirred. Mabel continued to sleep, but Dipper however sleepily sat up. Staring at Norman, he rubbed his eye.

"Norm ..." He yawned, "what you doing?" His eyes strained to stay open. Norman couldn't help but grin.

"S-sorry." He whispered as to not awake Mabel. "I ... went the b-bathroom...?" He lied, but it appeared as if Dipper was oblivious to Norman disappearing in the night. Nodding clumsily, Dipper scooted over to allow Norman more room to get on the pillow fort. Lightly stepping over, he climbed next to Dipper and lay down. Not a moment later, Dipper was back to sleep, his head close to Norman's shoulder. He wouldn't go back to sleep now. It was 8:30am. He was more content to watch the sleeping boy next to him, which he sure wasn't as creepy as it sounded. Blushing wildly, he slapped his face looking away. _It’s definitely creepy._ Sighing, he pulled out his phone from his pyjama pocket and decided to text Courtney. Hopefully she’ll be awake.

**Hey Courtney, did you know your friend Wendy worked at the Mystery Shack?**

Send. He didn't know why he sent that but he thought it would be a good opening. Maybe he could talk to her about the weird conversation Wendy and he had on the roof. He definitely couldn’t tell Dipper about it. He’d be mad that he spoke to Wendy, especially what they spoke about. Not a moment later, his phone buzzed.

**Norman! OMG! It's 8:30am on a Sunday! What the hell?!**

Cringing, he could practically hear Courtney shouting at him.

**Sorry ... I didn't realise. I've been awake awhile, the twins are still asleep.**

He sighed, and placed his phone on his stomach. He doubted she'd text him back now. He was so bored but didn't want to wake the twins. His phone buzzed again.

**Mum said I've got to pick you up BTW. I'll be there at 1. But FYI, if you EVER text me at 8:30 on a Sunday again I swear I'll hurt you.**

Sighing out loud, he replied with okay and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He wished the twins would wake up. At at moment, Dipper rolled over again and let out a heavy yawn. Blinking away the sleep, he looked over to Norman. Norman couldn’t help the smile that crept on his face.

“Morning, Dipper.” He softly whispered. Sleepily smiling back to Norman, he sat up and rested his weight onto his elbows and peered around the room.

“What time is it?” He yawned.

“About 8:45.” Dipper bolted upright and glared at Norman.

“PM?!” He shrieked, causing Mabel to stir.

“Dip-er.” She murmured with her eyes still closed. “It’s a Sunday, let me sleep ... forever preferably.” Norman chucked as she fell instantly back to sleep.

“No, it’s AM.” He smiled to reassure his friend. Dipper sighed heavily.

“Oh, thank goodness … wait, why are you awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” He danced around the truth. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep; more that he didn’t want to risk it. “I’ve been awake for a while.”

“Oh …” Dipper wiped a hand over his tired face. Turning back to Norman, he flashed a half smile to Norman. “Video games? I challenge you to a race on Mario Kart!”

“Well, that is a challenge that I am going to accept!” The boy’s crawled off of the pillow fort and snuck downstairs leaving a snoring Mabel to snooze on for a little while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter is a little short but don't worry the next one will be longer :)


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